Ultra Fine Dead Sea Mineral Compound and Method of Manufacture

ABSTRACT

An ultra fine mineral compound and method of processing native Dead Sea minerals into this ultra fine mineral compound that can be used to manufacture all natural Dead Sea mineral compositions particularly compositions for use in bath and body products is disclosed. Even with the extreme ionic character of the Dead Sea minerals, the Dead Sea mineral compositions prepared remain in suspension creating a viable cosmetic preparation that can maintain adequate shelf life and provide a more pleasant feel for the consumer.

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/601,796and any amendments thereof, filed Jun. 23, 2003 and published as U.S.Publication 2004/0076600, which is a divisional application claimingpriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/931,453 filed Aug. 16,2001, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of The Invention

Applicant's invention relates to an ultra fine mineral compound and amethod of processing native Dead Sea minerals into this ultra finemineral compound that can be used to manufacture all-natural Dead Seamineral compositions particularly compositions for use in cosmeticpreparations such as bath and body products.

2. Background Information

A cosmetic product is any substance or preparation intended for placingin contact with the various external parts of the human body or with theteeth or mucous membranes of the oral cavity with the intention ofcleaning, perfuming, or protecting, to keep such parts in goodcondition, change their appearance or correct body odors. There arenumerous product groups that fall within the category of cosmeticproducts or preparations, including but not limited to cosmeticemulsions, deodorants and antiperspirants, sunscreens, make-uppreparations, hair preparations, bath products, soaps, exfoliatingagents, and shaving preparations.

Cosmetic preparations are usually mixtures. A mixture is any matterconsisting of two or more substances physically combined in someproportion by mass. In a mixture there is no chemical reaction. Twotypes of mixtures are heterogenous mixtures and homogenous mixtures. Aheterogenous mixture is a mixture having ingredients of different statesof matter. A suspension is a heterogenous mixture in which droplets orparticles are suspended in a liquid. A colloidal dispersion is aspecific type of suspension in which the particles or droplets of onesubstance are smaller than those in suspensions, but larger than thosein solutions and that have one dimension in the range of 1 to 10 nm. Ahomogenous mixture is a mixture having ingredients of the same states ofmatter. Homogenous mixtures are usually solutions which are made up of asolute dissolved in a solvent. When the solute does not remain dissolvedin the solvent the mixture is in turn referred to as a heterogenousmixture.

Many cosmetic preparations are suspensions and more particularlycolloidal dispersions. In a colloidal dispersion there is a suspensionof finely divided particles in a continuous medium in which theparticles do not settle out of the substance rapidly and are not readilyfiltered. Where the particle is a liquid droplet and the medium is aliquid, the colloid is referred to as an emulsion. If however theparticle is a solid and the medium is a liquid, the colloid is referredto as a sol or gel. A sol is a colloidal dispersion of a solid in aliquid in which the particles are so small that the dispersion appearstransparent while a gel is a suspension that behaves as an elastic solidor semi-solid rather than liquid.

Colloidal systems undergo agglomeration, or gathering into a mass,leading to a distribution of droplet size for liquid colloids. Thoughwetting phenomena and nonwetting colloidal factors may play a role, theagglomeration process is induced by particulate collisions arising fromdiffusion, as in Brownian motion, velocity or shear gradients in aliquid dispersion medium, and gravitational settling.

Irreversible agglomeration can be quantified using various models forrepulsive or attractive electrostatic, London-van der Waals, and stericforces which affect stabilization of aqueous and nonaqueous colloidalsystems. A comprehensive model of colloidal stability, the DLVO(Derjagiun-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek) model has provided informationregarding the roles of electrolytes, dielectric constant, and otherphysical quantities in colloidal systems. This theory considers theelectrostatic interactions between two identically charged, suspendedparticles to be repulsive and to arise from the overlap of theelectrical double layers associated with each particle.

For systems containing a soluble polymer or surfactant, moleculararrangement, thickness of the absorbed layer, temperature, and chain orsegment salvation are additional critical parameters in determining theeffectiveness of a dispersed agent in providing steric stabilization. Ifvelocity or shear gradients are present, such as in mixing, and aresufficiently large, the frequency of collisions depends on the volumefraction of solids and the mean velocity gradient. Assuming thatsedimentation is slow compared to the first two collision mechanisms,the overall agglomeration rate is

−dN/dt=k _(d) N2+k _(s) N

where N is the particle number concentration, k_(d) and k_(s) are therespective rate constants corresponding to diffusion controlled andshear induced collision processes, and the minus sign denotes that theparticle number concentration decreases with time.

Cosmetic emulsions, such as lotions and creams, are emulsions ofwater-based and oil-based phases. An emulsion is more particularly a twophase system consisting of two incompletely miscible liquids, theinternal or discontinuous phase dispersed as finite globules in theother termed the continuous phase. Emulsions can be classified accordingwhich liquid is dispersed in the continuous phase. Oil in water (o/w)emulsions have oil as the dispersed phase in water as the continuousphase. In water in oil (w/o) emulsions, the water is dispersed in theoil as the continuous phase.

Products that produce emulsions, or emulsifiers, can be classified asionic or nonionic according to their behavior. An ionic emulsifier iscomposed of an organic lipophilic group and a hydrophilic group. Thehydrophilic-lipophilic balance is often used to characterize emulsifiersand related surfactant materials. The ionic types may be further dividedinto anionic and cationic, depending on the nature of the ion-activegroup. The lipophilic portion of the molecule is usually considered tobe the surface active portion. Nonionic emulsifiers are completelycovalent and show no apparent tendency to ionize. Emulsifiers, beingsurface active agents, lower surface and interfacial tensions andincrease the tendency of their solution to spread.

Mixing of cosmetic preparations is an important operation particularlyin the preparation of heterogeneous mixtures such as suspensions andcolloids since the actual steps involved can dictate whether theparticles or droplets remain suspended continuously throughout themedium for a reasonable period of time to maintain an adequate shelflife and viability of the preparation. This becomes increasinglydifficult when the desire of the manufacturer is to produce cosmeticpreparations that contain all natural ingredients. Natural ingredientsrefer to ingredients obtained from nature such as extracted directlyfrom plants or animal products as opposed to being producedsynthetically.

The present composition contains all natural ingredients. One of thenatural ingredients incorporated into the composition of the presentinvention is Dead Sea minerals. Dead Sea minerals are not to be confusedwith sea salt or Afrosalt® which has a different chemical composition.Sea salt is the compound remaining when oceanic sea water is evaporated,and contains primarily sodium and chloride and in some cases traceamounts of copper, manganese, nickel, fluorine, tin and iodine. Thetrace_minerals can vary based upon the source of the sea water.Afrosalt® is a compound of inorganic salts derived from seawatercontaining 45%±31 sodium, 53%±3 chlorides, 3.6% magnesium, <7%sulphates, <3% calcium, <2% bromides, 0.49%±0.04 potassium, <0.3%iodides. The Dead Sea is a unique body of water, unlike any other andhas a singular chemical composition. For years it has been known thattreatments administered at the Dead Sea can bring about significantremissions in diseases such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis,rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. It is not known what the modeof action is of the Dead Sea minerals. It is however believed thatspecific ions from the minerals play a role mainly as co-factors inenzymatic regulation activities in the metabolism of healthy skin. Thereare indications that magnesium is a co-factor for phosphate transferringenzymes and participates in c-AMP c-GMP balancing regulation, potassiummay enhance CO₂ transport, and calcium is thought to regulate cellmembrane permeability. Zinc may play a role as a co-factor in cellproliferation enzymatic regulation.

Electrolytes can be absorbed into the skin from mineral richpreparations. The skin is a multilayered membrane with certainabsorption characteristics which are subject to change. Corneum cellwalls are involved in the semi-permeable membrane system and areresponsible for the osmotic properties of the corneum. The penetrationof the electrolytes through the stratum corneum occurs in between thehorny cells.

There are models that demonstrate specific ionic absorption through thehuman skin barrier. Concentration is the key. When applying a cosmeticpreparation, the relevant concentration is the concentration gradientbetween each specific dissolved ion both outside and inside the skinsurface. During the absorption process, a partitioning of mineralsoccurs from the vehicle to the skin. The nature of the cosmeticpreparation is significant in determining the kinetics of mineral skinpenetration. Another important factor is the pH in the variousmicroenvironments of the skin. Ions in varying valences and cations incombination with different anions penetrate to differing extents. Thereare major differences in the extent of skin penetration in differentareas of the body.

The face is one of the highest absorbing areas. Exposed surface area,frequency of dermal application, skin type, skin age, temperature, andcontact time should be considered. Factors involved in the percutaneousabsorption of cosmetic preparations include use of other topical orsystemic drugs, application parameters such as area, amount, frequency,massage; formulation such as concentration, nature of the vehicle,occlusivity, pH; formulation components such as solvents, surfactants,perfumes, dyes, inert ingredients, active ingredients, preservatives,impurities; skin damage such as abrasion, detergents, organic solvents,climatic factors; and physiological factors such as nature of the skin,anatomical site, individual factors and hydration. Assuming electrolytescan be absorbed into the skin, dermal application of mineral richcosmetics can prove beneficial. The goal therefore has been toincorporate the beneficial properties of the Dead Sea into cosmetics.

Over the past few years cosmetics have been marketed that incorporateDead Sea minerals, including body and face masks with highly viscousdispersions, lotions and creams with the minerals in very lowconcentrations, and one phase aqueous solutions with the minerals invery low concentrations. The composition of Dead Sea minerals is veryunique. The concentration of the divalent cations magnesium and calciumis very high compared with the monovalent cations, mainly sodium andpotassium. In addition, the ionic strength of a solution of theseminerals is very high. These two factors have a tremendous negativeeffect on the formation and stability of dispersions and emulsions, andstrictly limit their concentration to a few percent of the weight ofconventional cosmetic formulations.

As mentioned previously, according to the DLVO theory stabilization ofdispersions of emulsions can be described as the result of the combinedattraction and repulsion forces between the particles or droplets thatare dispersed in continuous phases. For example, oil in water emulsionscan be stabilized by the absorption of ionic surfactants onto the oildroplet surface which may become positively or negatively charged. Theelectric surface potential will cause repulsion between the approachingdroplets. If the repulsion forces overcome the attraction forces theemulsion will be stable. The electric surface potential is stronglydependent on electrolyte concentration and on the valence of the counterion in the solution. Therefore, the electrical repulsion issignificantly reduced in systems that contain high concentrations ofelectrolytes in general, and divalent counterions in particular. Thisresults in difficulties in formulating a cosmetic emulsion that containselectrolytes from the Dead Sea that is rich in magnesium and calciumdivalent cations at high concentrations, and will be stable for theminimum required shelf life for a cosmetic product. In addition, thehigh concentration of electrolytes may cause salting out andprecipitation of various components of any cosmetic preparation. Thismay also affect the texture and the appearance of the product, itsviscosity, hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, crystallization, etc.

The present invention provides for a chemical composition forapplication to the skin comprising a mixture of at least 50% processedultra fine Dead Sea mineral particles in a continuous all naturalcarrier medium where in the Dead Sea mineral particles do not rapidlysettle out of the carrier medium which promotes a more shelf stableproduct. This chemical composition takes advantage of the ionicproperties of the Dead Sea minerals and contains minerals of such a finegranularity that exfoliation is not as harsh to the skin, particularlyof persons suffering from severe skin disorders. In addition, thecarrier medium of the present invention contains all natural ingredientsand is non-comedogenic so consumers do not have to be concerned aboutclogged pores.

The problems of the prior art are overcome by the present invention byprocessing the Dead Sea minerals into an ultra fine mineral compound andmixing this ultra fine mineral compound with select natural ingredientsusing a unique swift heating, chilling and mixing technique to producecosmetic preparations, such as body scrubs, rubs, muds, creams, lotions,and related preparations. These cosmetic preparations contain greaterthan 50% concentration of Dead Sea minerals but maintain stability andpreferable shelf life with a pleasant feel for the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method forprocessing native Dead Sea minerals into an ultra fine mineral compound.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelultra fine mineral compound.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel methodfor using manufactured ultra fine Dead Sea minerals to manufacture allnatural Dead Sea mineral compositions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel Dead Seamineral compositions.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide novel Dead Seamineral body scrubs, rubs, muds, creams, lotions, and relatedpreparations.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novelDead Sea mineral body scrub that remains in suspension to sustain shelflife.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a novelDead Sea mineral body scrub that is made from all natural ingredients.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel bodyscrub that has as its primary ingredient Dead Sea minerals.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide novel DeadSea mineral compositions that provide the optimal concentration of eachspecific ion in skin cells.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide novel DeadSea mineral compositions that provide a pleasant feel for the consumer.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide novel DeadSea mineral compositions that provide the optimal delivery vehicle forthe various ionic compounds.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel Dead Seamineral compositions that are not irritating to the skin.

In satisfaction of these and related objectives, Applicant's presentinvention provides an ultra fine mineral compound and a method ofprocessing native Dead Sea minerals into this ultra fine mineralcompound that can be used to manufacture all natural Dead Sea mineralcompositions particularly compositions for use in bath and bodyproducts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the organization of manufacture for thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conical screen mill system of thepresent invention manufacturing process.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the unique swift heating, chilling andmixing system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tube packager of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a flowchart of the organization of manufacture forthe preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The Dead Seamineral compositions and method for manufacture begins with the nativeDead Sea minerals at step 101. The native Dead Sea minerals aretypically composed of 31.0-35.0% magnesium chloride, 20.0-28.0%potassium chloride, 3.0-8.0% sodium chloride, 0.1-0.5% calcium chloride,0.3-0.6% bromide, 0.05-0.2% sulfates, 0-0.3% insoluble minerals, and32.0-40.0% water of crystallization. These values have a standarddeviation of ±1%. These native Dead Sea minerals are next subjected toultra fine processing at step 102. A perspective view of the conicalscreen mill and impeller system 103 is illustrated in more detail inFIG. 2. In the ultra fine processing, the native Dead Sea minerals areinitially held in a hopper 112, that is preferably nonmetal, dispensedto a screw conveyor 113 and transported through a primary opening 114into a second hopper 150. From second hopper 150, the native Dead Seaminerals are dispensed into a processor 115 that contains a conicalscreen mill with an impeller system 103 having preferably a dual headedimpeller 103 b. Once in the processor 115, the native Dead Sea mineralsenter into the conical screen mill 103 a. Within the conical screen mill103 a, the impeller 103 b forces the native Dead Sea minerals throughthe conical screen 103 a into a third hopper 104 thereby reducing thesize of the native Dead Sea minerals and forming an ultra fine mineralcompound. The conical screen mill with impeller system 103 not onlyreduces the particle size of the native Dead Sea minerals, but alsokeeps insoluble materials, such as pieces of hard mineral or rocks, fromgetting through so the ultra fine minerals that are formed areessentially “rock-free”. The initial granularity of the native Dead Seaminerals is typically 31.3% not passing through US sieve 20 mesh, 40.2%not passing through US sieve 40 mesh, 24.6% not passing through US sieve60 mesh, 2.5% not passing through US sieve 80 mesh, 0.4% not passingthrough US sieve 100 mesh, and 0.2% not passing through US sieve 120mesh, 0.4% not passing through US sieve 200 mesh, and 0.3% pan. Simply,the preferred native minerals used in the present process have at aminimum 90% less than 10 mesh and 90% less than 1.7 mm size granularity.However, another grade of native minerals that can be used in thepresent process has a screen analysis that has at a minimum greater than90% between 5 and 10 mesh and greater than 90% between 1.7 mm and 4.0 mmsize granularity. In contrast, the granularity of the ultra fineminerals consist of typically 0.0% not passing through US sieve 20 mesh,22.7% not passing through US sieve 40 mesh, 29.6% not passing through USsieve 60 mesh, 11.5% not passing through US sieve 80 mesh, 4.9% notpassing through US sieve 100, 3.4% not passing through US sieve 120,9.7% not passing through US sieve 200, and 18.2% pan.

A finer version of the minerals can also be obtained with a granularityof the minerals consisting of typically 0.0% not passing through USsieve 20 mesh, 0.4% not passing through US sieve 40 mesh, 16.0% notpassing through US sieve 60 mesh, 15.0% not passing through US sieve 80mesh, 8.7% not passing through US sieve 100 mesh, 5.5% not passingthrough US sieve 120 mesh, 16.2% not passing through US sieve 200 mesh,and 38.1% pan. The granularities for each of the minerals have adeviation of +10%. The processing step for any version of the mineralsensures that 100% will have less than 10 mesh and 100% will have lessthan 1.0 mm size granularity.

At the primary opening of the processor 115, a specially fitted hose 119is placed to regulate air into the impeller portion. This air originatesfrom an attached air compressor 158. Before entering the impellerportion, the air passes through a pressure regulator 159 and through anair dryer 160. In addition, this air is filtered with preferably twofilters, one filter 151 that removes moisture and particulates and onecarbon filter 152. By maintaining a cool, dry positive pressureenvironment the level of heat and moisture in the process remains lowenabling the chemical composition to remain natural without thenecessity of adding non-natural “free flowing” or “anti-caking” agentsthat would alter the natural composition. A secondary opening existsbetween the conical screen mill and impeller system 103 and third hopper104 to allow for collection, but the remainder of this portion ofprocessor 115 is kept closed with a cover 120, being preferably cottonor canvas, to prevent the ultra fine particulate from escaping into theair and causing possible respiratory problems and to prevent unnecessarymoisture from entering the ultra fine minerals and altering theirchemical coordination.

A nuisance collection tube 105, having a collection fitting, is placedadjacent opening 153 of third hopper 104 for super fine nuisanceparticulate debris collection into a nuisance collection receptacle 106.The processed ultra fine minerals are next conveyed along a screw typeconveyor 121 to liner bags 154 within fibre drums or barrels 107 placedon a scale 155. A second nuisance collection tube 156 is placed from thescrew type conveyor 121 for debris collection into a second nuisancecollection receptacle 157. When 65 kg of ultra fine minerals arecollected, the scale 155 automatically stops the screw type conveyor121. All of the air is removed from the liner bag 154, the liner bag 154is lock tied, and the barrel 107 closed. The barrel 107 is thentransported to a pallet (not shown) for shipment 108. Both the nativeDead Sea minerals and the ultra fine processed minerals are highlyhygroscopic and therefore the entire process occurs in a modified roomatmosphere with a temperature no higher than 78 degrees Fahrenheit withcool, dry positive pressure.

Once the ultra fine minerals are prepared they can then be mixed at themixing stage 109 into a Dead Sea mineral composition. The mixing step isillustrated in more detail with the perspective view of the swiftheating, chilling and mixing system of FIG. 3. Swift heating or chillingfor purposes of the present invention is defined as heating or chillingof at least about 200 gallons in about two hours or less. Mixingperformance is evaluated primarily by the physical uniformity of theultimate composition. The elements of the mixer design are the processdesign, such as the fluid mechanics of the impeller, fluid regimenrequired by the process, scale-up, and hydraulic similarity; impellerpower characteristics, including speed and diameter; and mechanicaldesign of the mixer, such as the impeller, shafts and drive assembly.

In preparing the Dead Sea mineral composition of the present inventionit is important to consider the fluid mechanics of the mixing process.Mixer power, P, produces a pumping capacity Q expressed in kg/s, and aspecific velocity work term of the head H expressed in J/kg according tothe formula:

P=QH

where the term H is related to the square of the velocity and thereforeto fluid shear rates. If the process is dependent primarily upon thepumping capacity, the fluid velocities and the individual shear rates,both on a macro- and a micro-scale are above a certain minimum level toallow other process requirements to proceed unhindered. If the pumpingcapacity is increased and some of the other velocity and shear ratevalues are decreased below some minimum, then fluid shear stress entersinto the overall design.

When mixing the Dead Sea mineral composition of the present inventionwhich involves at its simplest level a solid and at least one liquid,the settling velocity of the solid particles as well as the finalviscosity of the suspension are critical factors in the process designas the ultimate goal is to obtain a composition that can be used as acosmetic preparation with complete uniformity of the solid throughoutthe suspension that can be maintained not only through the mixingperiod, but also for a reasonable time thereafter for an adequate shelflife.

The process for preparing the Dead Sea mineral composition of thepresent invention utilizes water for many of its operations. The wateroriginates from a local water source 168, then passes into a deionizer169. The deionized water is then supplied to a boiler 170 and a chillerunit 123. Air is also incorporated into the system which originates fromair compressor 171. The air passes from air compressor 171 through apressure regulator 172 into an air dryer 173 to create cool dry air. Theair then passes through a filter 174 and water trap 175 in processvessel 122. The process begins by heating the process vessel 122 andsetting the temperature control on control panel 134 to 65 degreesCelsius to open the heat valves 124 a and inject hot water from boiler170 into the process vessel 122 jacket around the surrounding insidewall of the process vessel 122. Once circulated through process vessel122 jacket, the water is returned out valve 124 d. Liquid palm oil isadded to vessel 122 once the vessel 122 begins to heat. When thetemperature has reached at least 35 degrees Celsius, beeswax, jojoba waxPEG 120, cashew husk oil ethoxylate, and coconut oil are added to theprocess vessel 122 to begin melting. Scrape surface 163 agitation andtriple impeller 164 agitation are turned on from control panel 134 atslow speed to mix (these are attached to a variable speed controlledmotor). When these ingredients have reached 65 degrees Celsius and aremelted thoroughly together then soybean oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, andvitamin E oils (Covitol 1250 and Covi-ox) are added. The speed of thescrape surface agitation and the triple impeller agitation are increasedto medium. The heating is then turned off and the flow of hot water tothe process vessel jacket 122 is closed. Turbine 165 agitation is thenturned on within the process vessel 122 for high speed homogenousagitation or mixing. The ultra fine minerals are added and higher speedmixing with scrape surface 163 agitation and triple impeller 164agitation is continued. The ultra fine minerals help to reduce thetemperature. A chiller unit 123 is turned on and flow valves 125 areopened to circulate chilled water. The chiller unit 123 is itselfchilled by an external cooling source such as a local water supply 168.The temperature control on the process vessel 122 is then set to 45degrees Celsius to open the cooling valves 124 b to the process vessel122. The cold water is circulated through the process vessel 122 jacketand returned through valve 124 c to chiller unit 123. Triple motionmixing is continued until the batch temperature reaches 45 degreesCelsius. Mixing of the batch with triple motion is continued at 45degrees Celsius for another 15 minutes. The temperature control oncontrol panel 134 is then set to 42 degrees Celsius and an essential oilblend is added (which is weighed and blended earlier) and mixing iscontinued. The batch is maintained at 42 degrees Celsius while mixingfor 20-25 minutes. The temperature control on the process vessel 122 isthen set to 40 degrees Celsius and mixing is continued. When thetemperature of the batch reaches 40 degrees Celsius, package tubes canthen be filled. At this stage, the batch is pumped from the processvessel 122 using pump 166 with a pressure regulator 167 to a holdinghopper 126 at the filling station 128 of a tube packager 110. The tubepackager 110 is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4. As the level ofthe batch goes down in the holding hopper 126, the level sensor 176signals the pump 166 to pump over more. The holding hopper 126 iscovered except for the tube 127 that enters from the process vessel 122due to the delicate nature of the batch product. Empty tubes are placedinto a distribution station 135 and upon actuating the filling station128 of the tube packager 110 the empty tubes are placed at station 129,oriented at station 130, filled at station 131, sealed at station 132,and trimmed into a final packaged Dead Sea mineral composition atstation 133 ready for shipment 111. The tubes are preferably coextrudedtubes with a barrier of protection between the mineral composition andthe reactant tube surface.

The final Dead Sea mineral composition that can be used for cosmeticpreparations such as body scrubs, rubs, muds, creams, lotions, andrelated preparations contains ultra fine Dead Sea minerals, palm oil,soybean oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, beeswax, essential oil blend, jojobawax PEG 120, cashew husk oil ethoxylate, coconut oil, natural sourceVitamin E oil (or d-alpha tocopherol), Vitamin E oil (or natural mixedtocopherols) used as antioxidant. The preferred essential oil blendincludes rosewood, lavender, chamomile, and calendula.

Where the final composition is a body scrub, it contains preferablyapproximately 51% ultra fine Dead Sea minerals, 25% palm oil, 9.0%soybean oil, 5.0% olive oil, 3.0% jojoba oil, 3.0% beeswax, 1.0%essential oil blend, 1.0% jojoba wax PEG 120, 1.0% cashew husk oilethoxylate, 1.0% coconut oil, 0.1% natural source Vitamin E oil or dalpha tocopherol, 0.05% Vitamin E oil or natural mixed tocopherols. Thepreferred essential oil blend for the body scrub includes 0.44%rosewood, 0.34% lavender, 0.20% chamomile, and 0.02% calendula. Evenwith the extreme ionic character of the Dead Sea minerals, the Dead Seamineral compositions prepared remain in suspension creating a viablecosmetic preparation that can maintain adequate shelf life and provide amore pleasant feel for the consumer.

Conventional methods, known to those of ordinary skill in the art ofcosmetics, can be used to administer the formulation of the presentinvention to a user; however, the preferred administration will be bytransdermal delivery.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limitedsense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well asalternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent topersons skilled in the art upon the reference to the description of theinvention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims willcover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.

1. A composition for use as a body scrub, the composition comprising, byweight: approximately 51% ultra fine dead sea minerals, the ultra finedead sea minerals consisting essentially of particles uniformly lessthan 1.0 mm; approximately 25% palm oil; approximately 9% soybean oil;approximately 5% olive oil; approximately 3% jojoba oil; approximately3% beeswax; approximately 1% essential oil blend; approximately 1%jojoba wax PEG 120; approximately 1% cashew husk oil ethoxylate;approximately 1% coconut oil; approximately 0.1% a compound selectedfrom the group consisting of natural source vitamin E oil and d-alphatocopherol; and approximately 0.05% a compound selected from the groupconsisting of vitamin E oil and natural mixed tocopherols.
 2. Thecomposition of claim 1 wherein the essential oil blend comprises, byweight: approximately 44% rosewood; approximately 34% lavender;approximately 20% chamomile; and approximately 2% calendula.
 3. Achemical composition for application to the skin comprising: at least50% by weight processed dead sea mineral particles, the particlesconsisting essentially of ultra-fine uniform granularity particles ofless than 1.0 mm; and a continuous all-natural carrier medium comprisingat least one essential oil; wherein the particles are suspended in saidall-natural carrier medium;
 4. The chemical composition of claim 3wherein the particles provide a delivery vehicle for ionic compoundsthat can be absorbed as ions into skin cells.
 5. A method of treating adisease, the method comprising: applying a chemical composition to skinof a subject, the chemical composition comprising: at least 50% byweight processed dead sea mineral particles, the particles consistingessentially of ultra-fine uniform granularity particles of less than 1.0mm; and is a continuous all-natural carrier medium comprising at leastone essential oil; wherein the particles are suspended in saidall-natural carrier medium and provide a delivery vehicle for ioniccompounds that can be absorbed as ions into skin cells.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the disease is psoriasis.
 7. The method of claim 5wherein the disease is psoriatic arthritis.
 8. The method of claim 5wherein the disease is rheumatoid arthritis.
 9. The method of claim 5wherein the disease is osteoarthritis.
 10. The method of claim 5 whereinthe subject is a human subject.
 11. The method of claim 5 wherein thesubject is an animal subject.
 12. Processed dead sea minerals to be usedas an ingredient for use in manufacturing cosmetic compositions forapplication to the skin; the processed dead sea minerals consistingessentially of ultra-fine uniform specific granularity particles of lessthan 1.0 mm size.
 13. The processed dead sea minerals of claim 12wherein the processed dead sea minerals provide a delivery vehicle forionic compounds that can be absorbed as ions into skin cells.